Inspired by the Shakespeare play, Titus Andronicus, “TITI”, a film from Richard Short starring Lyriq Bent as Titi Androniki, looks to modernize one of Shakespeare’s more controversial works.
Perhaps Shakespeare’s most deranged play, Titus Andronicus weaved together his usual themes of power, family, and of course, revenge and madness, but in a way that adequately freaked out audiences long after he died.
Given the madness of our current times, Short (“Vinyl” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth”) and Bent (“Four Brothers” and “SAW IV”) have found an opportune time to revitalize the story for modern audiences.
Bent plays Titi Androniki, who is a former general turned African rap superstar, forced to return to his home country of Gaboria after political disputes and the murder of his son leave him with no other choice. Despite his fame, Titi’s circumstances demonstrate that no one is immune to social and political unrest, setting Titi on a path of retribution towards those who have taken his son and threaten his homeland.
But as Titi will learn, the cycle of revenge and retribution is one that only spins faster once it starts, grinding down everyone who get caught up in it.
Richard Short, Producer and Writer of “TITI”, explained that while the film will certainly match Shakespeare’s energy relative to Titus Andronicus, he plans to imprint a slightly tweaked perspective on the story.
“Titus Andronicus, as originally written, is perhaps known as a villainous man. He carries out some of the most heinous actions in all of Shakespeare,” Short said. “But what if he was right? Or at least, what if YOU empathized with his choices?”
Adding to that, Short acknowledges that “TITI” also provides an opportunity to update the story in a way that reflects modern sensibilities rather than some of the antiquated cultural norms Shakespeare leveraged to depict certain characters in certain ways.
“The most exciting thing about ‘TITI’ is the chance to right an historic wrong,” Short said. “William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in history but he undoubtedly wrote a despicable character (Aaron the Moor) and chose to make him dark-skinned in order to highlight his ‘untrustworthiness’. Because of this, an audience of the time would’ve thought the character ‘evil’ on sight. Obviously, a modern audience would find that unacceptable. We aim to finally provide some balance.”
Short added, “While the actions of most aren’t racially motivated, the actions of one most certainly are.”
Short, Bent, and Mogul Productions are eager to help bring “TITI” to theaters sometime in 2025.
